I just saw this post but by coincidence last week I started experimenting with adding stuff to no knead bread for the first time. I've been making the plain version since the original nyt recipe came out but for some reason had never gone beyond swapping out different flours until I had a craving for jalapeno cheese bread and figured I could probably make it myself. Since last thursday I've baked 3 loaves - serrano cheddar, jalapeno cheddar, and cranberry pecan. All were the basic nyt/jim lahey recipe measured by weight (with double the salt) and baked in an enameled dutch oven. All 3 were good but the jalapeno cheddar loaf (half AP/half bread flour, 1 tbsp honey, a generous cup of diced cheddar and 3 jalapenos charred on the stove burner, skinned, seeded and coarsely diced) was amazing. Just the right amount of cheesy pockets, beautiful crumb, and a nice even warmth and pepper flavor without being too spicy. I took it hot out of the oven to an easter dinner where it was inhaled and praised by everyone, even the 2 year old. I used tillamook sharp cheddar because that's what I had, but it would probably be even more amazing with fancy cheddar. I've been stirring the add-ins in immediately after mixing the dough and adjusting the water. It doesn't seem to affect the first rise at all, but it looks like way too much stuff mixed into the unrisen dough - I keep having to remind myself that the baked loaf will be much larger. One thing I discovered about baking cheese bread in a dutch oven is that while the bread doesn't stick, those crispy cheese puddles shown in the gorgeous photo of the cheddar and jalapeno loaf? Those will stick! When I went to dump my bread out of the pot onto the counter and nothing happened. I had to carefully set the hot pot on the stove and run a spatula around the loaf to break the the cheese adhesions before I could get it out. For cheesy things it would be a good idea to use the method where you shape the loaf on parchment paper and plonk it paper and all into the pot.

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